Zeta is expected to make landfall east of Houma

As of Tuesday afternoon, Hurricane Zeta was still on course to make landfall near Houma and then head due northeast toward New Orleans on its way past Hattiesburg, Miss. The projected path leaves Avoyelles Parish out the zone of direct impact.

That is subject to change if the storm moves farther west before striking the Louisiana coast Wednesday night. The projected landfall has ranged from Grand Isle to Marsh Island over the past few days, but with the storm only 485 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River, forecasters are becoming more confident on where the storm will hit.

"We are expected to get 1-2 inches of rain," Avoyelles Emergency Preparedness Director Joey Frank said. "It shouldn't be much of an event for us at all."

Frank noted that previous projections had put the parish in a zone that was expected to receive some high winds and up to five inches of rain from the storm.

He said the parish has been in the crosshairs of several hurricanes and tropical storms this season.

Of those, Laura and Delta caused the most damage, including wind damage and power outages. Tropical Storm Beta was a "direct hit" on the parish but only brought heavy rains. Sally moved far enough to the east to cause no effect for the parish, Marco was broken up off the coast by high wind shear and Cristobal caused very little effect as it bypassed the parish.

While this area looks like it will be spared from Zeta's late October wrath, other areas of the state aren't so lucky.

Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency Monday in advance of Zeta's anticipated arrival in southeast Louisiana. A state of emergency allows the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) and other state agencies to use state resources to aid in storm response efforts.

“While there is some uncertainty in Zeta’s track, it is likely that Louisiana will see some impacts from this storm, and the people of our state need to take it seriously," Edwards said Monday. "It’s easy to let your guard down late in the hurricane season, but that would be a huge mistake.”

Edwards said GOHSEP "has already started assisting our local partners with critical items like pumps, generators and food and water for first responders. We stand ready to expand that assistance as needed. Everyone should be monitoring the news for information and should heed any direction they get from their local leaders.”